Binary Read online

Page 7

 

  The elevator stopped at the sixth floor. They both got out and walked to Drews room.

  `Where is Wright now?

  `I just checked with 702. Hes in that apartment on Alameda.

  `The one he rented last week?

  `Right.

  The newly rented apartment was also a puzzle. Wright had apparently leased it on the spur of the moment. It seemed to coincide with nothing, except with the fact that one girl had been seen leaving his old apartment near the Cortez hotel three mornings in a row. This was unusual enough to suggest that Wright was going to set her up as his mistress.

  `702 talked to the doorman. Wright told the doorman theyd be moving furniture into the apartment later in the day.

  `Hmmm. That seemed totally unreasonable to Graves. Wright wouldnt spend time supervising domestic arrangements for a girl. It was beneath him.

  Stopping in the hallway, Lewis said, `Does all this make sense to you?

  `No, Graves said. `Not yet. But I expect to get some help.

  Without knocking he opened the door and entered Drews room.

  Timothy Drew sat in an overstuffed chair and said, `I want to see my lawyer. His voice was calm. The fact of his arrest, and the presence of two federal marshals standing by the doors with their hands resting on the butts of their revolvers, did not seem to disturb him at all.

  Graves eyes swept the living-room. It was an expensive hotel suite, furnished in a heavily elegant style. Altogether, not bad for a man one year out of the Army. He sat down in a chair opposite Drew.

  `I want to see my lawyer, Drew repeated. His eyes flicked once to Graves, then went back to the cops, as if he had decided Graves was unimportant.

  `Youll have that opportunity, Graves said.

  Drews eyes snapped back, fixed on him.

  `In due time, Graves added.

  `I want to do it now.

  `Were in a hurry, Graves said. His voice was not hurried at all. `Wed prefer to have a statement from you now.

  `I have nothing to say.

  Graves shrugged, and lit a cigarette. He never took his eyes off Drew. This was going to be a kind of chess game, he knew, and it was a game he could win if he kept his temper.

  `I want to see my lawyer, Drew repeated.

  Graves did not reply. He just stared. That was the simplest form of pressure, and he wanted to see if it would work.

  `Listen, Drew said, `who are you guys, anyway? You havent got the right to push me around. You havent got a warrant -

  `Did you show him the warrant? Graves said.

  `Yeah, we showed him the warrant, one of the marshals said.

  `Show him again.

  The marshal snapped open the warrant in front of Drew, then took it away.

  `Signed by a federal district court judge at nine thirty this morning, Graves said. `All in order, all perfectly legal. Youre arrested on a charge of conspiracy to steal classified information. It carries a mandatory twenty-year prison sentence if youre convicted. Parole is not granted for such charges. Do you know what that means?

  `I want to see my lawyer.

  `Im trying to help you, Graves said quietly. `Keep your mouth shut and listen: You were observed tampering with the computer terminals at Southern California Underwriters. You tapped into classified data banks at known times which coincide with your access to the terminals in question. We have traced back the lines. Furthermore, you utilized certain codes known to you but outdated. This gives you away. Its quite straightforward. Youll get out of prison when youre about fifty.

  Graves stood up. `Now think carefully, Mr Drew. Is it worth it?

  Drews face went blank, neutral, composed. `I want to see my lawyer.

  Graves sighed and walked around the living-room, looking idly at details. He glanced into the bedroom and saw a packed suitcase next to the bed. -He looked back at Drew. `Planning a trip?

  `I want to see my lawyer.

  Graves walked into the bedroom and opened the suitcase. The bottom half was filled with lightweight clothing, bathing trunks, sports clothes.

  The top was packed with money, neat stacks of twenty-dollar bills held tight in paper sleeves. Fresh from the bank. He counted the stacks: it came to roughly twenty thousand dollars.

  In a corner of the bedroom draped over a chair was a sports coat. He found a ticket for the noon plane to Acapulco in the pocket. A first-class ticket, one-way.

  He returned to the living-room. Drew watched him, wary now.

  `Planning a trip, Mr Drew?

  `I want to see my lawyer.

  `Thats a lot of money in there, Mr Drew.

  `I have nothing to say.

  `From your ticket, it looks like you were planning to stay down there. Not come back.

  Drew shook his head. He did not speak. He was sweating, but still in control; he showed no sign of cracking.

  `Can you account for all that money?P

  No comment. I want to see -

  `All right, Graves said. He sighed and turned to the marshals. `Okay, lock him up.

  The marshals grabbed Drew roughly, each taking an arm. For the first time Drew became excited: `Whats going on?

  Graves found the reaction interesting. Was Drew afraid of jail? Was he homosexual? Did he need drugs? Graves decided to play on the jail fear. `We dont have many options, Mr Drew. I know its not pleasant, but weve got to put you in jail. You know, theres a lot of paperwork, and sometimes people get lost. Inadvertently deprived of their rights. I mean, people have spent a day or two in jail, and their papers get mixed up. So they dont get any food, or water, or anything. But you see, nobody knows youre there. For a while.

  `Where are you taking me? Drews voice was strained now, very tense.

  `Downtown. Well be talking to you again in a day or so, when youre more. . . relaxed.

  `Downtown San Diego?

  `Yes, Graves said. And he suddenly realized that Drew wasnt afraid of jail at all. He didnt want to stay in the city. That was what he was afraid of.

  `You cant do that!

  `Just watch it happen, Graves said, lighting a cigarette.

  `Ive got to leave, Drew said. He was now openly agitated. `I have to leave. I have to leave.

  `Why?

  `Its my sister. Shes sick, in Mexico. Thats why I have the money, I need it

  `You dont have a sister, Graves said. `You have one brother two years older than you, who sells insurance in Portland, Oregon. Your father is still alive and lives in Michigan. Your mother died two years ago of a heart attack.

  Drews body sagged.

  `Put him down, Graves said to the marshals. They dropped him back into the chair. `Now listen to me, Graves said. `You arent going anywhere without giving us some help.

  Drew stared at him. `I want a cigarette.

  Graves gave him one.

  `What time is it now? Drew asked dully.

  `Ten thirty. Graves lit the cigarette for him and watched as Drew sat back and inhaled.

  `Listen, Drew said, `I have to catch that plane at noon.

  `Why is that? Graves said.

  `I dont know, Drew said. `I swear to God I dont know.

  `What do you know?

  `I know I have to get out of San Diego today, because. . . something is going to happen.

  `How do you know this?

  `John told me.

  `John Wright?

  `Yes.

  `What did he say?

  `He said that the binary would go off today. In San Diego.

  `And what is the binary?

  `I dont know. He sucked on the cigarette.

  `Mr Drew, youre going to have to do better

  `I swear to you, I dont know.

  Graves paused. He let Drew sweat, and let him smoke. Finally he said, `How is the binary related to the information you tapped from the data banks?

  `I cant be sure. The information was in two areas. One was easy to get, the other was hard. First, John
wanted supply routings. I spent a couple of days learning how to plug into the subroutines to release the information. I kept getting "no authorization" printouts, but finally I managed to plug in.

  `And extract what?

  `Supply routings for different things.

  `Things?

  `Well, John gave me the codes for what he wanted. Dont ask me where he got those codes. One of the codes was for a thing called "Binary 75 slash 76". I got a supply routing for that.

  `And you have no idea what the code represents?

  `None. Except that its obviously Defence Department material, transported by rail.

  `How do you know that?

  `From the routings themselves. You cant be sure whats being transported, but you can tell the method - air, rail, other surface vehicle, truck convoy. You can tell the method.

  `What else can you tell?

  `You can tell the C and C ratings.

  `Whats that?

  `Command and Control provides a rating for all material transportation. The ratings are in grades: grades one through seven. One is pretty safe, or pretty inexpensive. Like clothing, or spare auto parts - that sort of thing. Seven is very expensive or very dangerous.

  `What was Binary 75 slash 76?"

  `It was grade seven.

  `What did you think Binary 75 slash 76 represented?

  Drew puffed on his cigarette. He did not answer for a long time. Finally he said, `I thought it was radioactive materials.

  `Meaning?

  `I dont know. Components for a bomb, maybe. I dont know.

  Graves almost immediately rejected that explanation, although it fitted with the scintillation counter.

  `What else could it be?

  `You asked me what I thought it was. I told you.

  `You think Wright planned to make an atomic bomb?F

  I think he planned to steal the components. Maybe he already has.

  `And do what with them?

  `I dont know. But its going to happen today.

  Graves sat back. Drew put out his cigarette. Graves offered him another.

  `What does a code like "binary" mean?

  `It could be just a random code, Drew said. `But they usually have some specific meaning. Thats why I thought it was atomic components.

  `Binary. . .

  `Meaning a twin system, Drew said. `Something with two active parts, two units. Nuclear bombs are like that. You have two sections of uranium, neither of which will explode by itself. But you bring them together, and you reach critical mass, start a chain reaction. He snapped his fingers. `Bingo.

  By now Graves was convinced that Drew believed this explanation. Graves did not. Whatever Wright planned, it had nothing to do with atomic bombs. That didnt fit with the tanks and hoses and nozzles, all of which pointed to some gas or liquid apparatus.

  `Hes insane, Drew said suddenly. `Thats the trouble. Hes crazy. Hes convinced that everybody is out to get him, and hes convinced that the government is being turned over to the wrong elements, and hes convinced that only he can set things right.

  `You mentioned that there was something else you, had to tap from the data banks. What was it?

  `That was strange, Drew said. `Id already tapped the Defence routings. My job was over. Then John asked me to tap into the State data banks.

  `State?

  `State Department. I said I couldnt. He told me to try, and gave me some more codes. I dont know where he got those either, but they worked.

  `What was the information he wanted?

  `File summary on one person, Drew said. `A man who worked in State Department Intelligence named Graves.

  `I see, Graves said. `Did you obtain the information?

  `Eventually.

  `And you gave it to Wright?

  `Yes. He wasnt interested in it, I dont think, except for one part. The psychological test scores.

  `Do you remember anything else?

  `No. Only that John was very interested in the psychological tests. He puffed on the cigarette. `I remember he said when he saw it, "Well, this is the final cog in the machine", and laughed.

  `What did he mean by that?

  `Damned if I know, Drew said.

  HOUR 6

  SAN DIEGO

  11 AM PDT

  As they left Drews room, Lewis said, `By the way, theyre still holding the girl.

  `The girl? Graves was distracted, thinking about what Drew had said.

  `The girl we picked up this morning.

  `Oh yes. Where is she?

  `Theyve got her downstairs. In the grand ballroom.

  Graves nodded and checked his watch. Theyd held the girl for several hours already. `Id better see her now, he said. `Whats her name?

  Lewis consulted his notes. `Cynthia Lembeck.

  `How does she seem?

  Lewis shrugged. `Nervous.

  Anyone would be nervous, Graves thought, who had to spend much time in the hotels grand ballroom. It was a cavernous space with ornate walls and ceiling, but for some reason all the tables and chairs had been removed. The ballroom was empty except for a girl sitting in a fold-up chair near one wall, and a marshal standing nearby.

  Graves went over to her.

  Seen close, she was darkly tanned, conventionally pretty, and older than he had expected - in her late twenties or early thirties.

  `Miss Lembeck?

  `Oh, she said in surprise. `Its you.

  That stopped him. Stopped him cold. `You recognize me?

  `Well, just your face. Ive seen your picture.

  `Where?

  `Johns apartment.

  `I see.

  `Are you a friend of his?

  `Not exactly, Graves said. `I work for the government.

  `Something to do with the Convention?

  `Not exactly. He switched into a straightforward interrogation mode. `How long have you known Mr Wright, Miss Lembeck?

  `About a month.

  `How did you meet him?

  `Through friends. She glanced from Graves to the marshal. `Have I done something wrong?

  `No, no. We just want to ask you some questions. What can you tell us about Mr Wright?

  `Hes very nice, she said. `Were engaged.

  `Oh? That was a surprise.

  `Yes. He bought me an apartment, just last week.

  `I see.

  `Its very nice. At least, it will be.

  The girl was not very bright, but she had a sweet sexiness that was unmistakable. Still, he couldnt imagine Wright marrying her. In the past he had married well-known women, celebrities.

  `Theres nothing there now, the girl said. `Theyre moving furniture in today.

  `You must be excited.

  `Oh, I am. Johns excited, too. But he has so much on his mind.

  `How do you mean?

  `Well, business things. Hes very interested in politics, you know.

  `No, I didnt know that.

  `You didnt? she seemed puzzled. `I thought - well, anyway, he is. And this morning, we had the news on the television, and they announced that the President was coming into town. Well, he got very upset, and started making telephone calls. A lot of them.